Circuit layout for thin film transistors in series or parallel

ABSTRACT

A thin film device has a source region, a drain region, a first gate disposed between the source region and the drain region, a second gate disposed between the source region and the drain region, wherein the second gate region is in close proximity with the first gate region, a semiconductor film disposed between the source region, the drain region, and the first and second gate regions, and a dielectric material disposed between the source region, the drain region, the first and second gate regions, and the semiconductor film.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of, and claims priority to, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/672,366 filed Nov. 8, 2012, which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The conventional structure of an individual thin-film transistor (TFT)consists of two lateral electrodes for source and drain currentcollection or injection, modulated by a third gate electrode. The sourceand drain electrodes are usually conductors, such as silver, gold,copper, doped polymer, or conductive oxides such as indium tin oxide.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,283,655, issued to Chabinyc, et al., and entitled“Promoting Layered Structures with Semiconductive Regions orSubregions,” discloses structures, devices, arrays, and methods relatedto thin-film fabrication. Layered structures, channel regions, andlight-interactive regions can include the same semiconductive polymermaterial, such as with an organic polymer.

Generally, TFT circuits are laid out by connecting individual TFTs andother elements with metal interconnect. In organic circuits, a pair ofunipolar (i.e., both n-type or both p-type) TFTs is typically realizedby laying out two separate TFTs and wiring them together. For example,in a series-connected stack configuration, the source of one TFT iswired to the drain of the other TFT with interconnect, generally formedin the drain or source metal layer. An issue with TFT circuits is thelarge area necessitated by low mobility and limitations of printingresolution and registration, where printing techniques are used.

Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved structure for TFTsthat increases transistor density and reduces the area required for acircuit design. As has been observed with silicon semiconductor devices,higher densities inevitably lead to higher computing power. The promiseof combining the higher computing power, as seen in silicon circuits,with the economic efficiencies of TFTs will ultimately lead to improvedcomputing devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of an exemplary stack of three thin filmtransistors arranged in series, with a metal layer in each source anddrain region.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top view of an exemplary stack of three thin filmtransistors arranged in series, without metal layers in the intermediarysource and drain regions.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is another side view of FIG. 4, further illustrating intermediarysource and drain regions without an accompanying metal layer.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative comparison of current according to embodimentsof FIGS. 1-3 versus current according to embodiments of FIGS. 4-7

FIG. 9 is an illustrative comparison of the resistivity of commerciallyavailable semiconductor according to embodiments.

FIG. 10 is another embodiment of the structure of FIGS. 4-7.

FIG. 11 is a side view of an exemplary stack of three thin filmtransistors arranged in series, in bottom-gate orientation.

FIG. 12 is a side view of FIG. 11, without metal layers in theintermediary source and drain regions.

FIG. 13 is an exemplary top view of a stack of three TFTs arranged inparallel.

FIG. 14 is a bottom view of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is an exemplary top view of a transmission gate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

By laying two TFTs side-by-side such that the source of the firstcoincides with the drain of the second, the area of TFTs connected inseries is greatly reduced in an embodiment of the invention. Thistechnique is not limited to pairs of TFTs, but is applied to stacks ofthree or more TFTs. Additionally, the technique can be adapted toarrange TFTs in parallel by laying out two or more TFTs with theirrespective source regions and drain regions coinciding.

In an embodiment, as illustrated by FIGS. 1-3, three TFTs are arrangedso that a single combined source or drain region replaces a separatesource and separate drain region of two TFTs connected in series, inaddition to replacing the interconnect of a traditional design. In FIG.3, source region 170 and drain region 180 terminate a series of sourceand drain terminals. Occupying a portion of source region 170 is asource conductor 110, and occupying a portion of drain region 180 is adrain conductor 120. Gate 150 a is located between source region 170 anda drain region 175 a that also doubles as a source region 175 a for gate150 b. Metal layer 130 a occupies a portion of the coincidingsource/drain region 175 a. The metal layer 130 a serves as both a sourceand drain conductor, and may be substituted for other conductivematerials, such as a conductive polymer, a metal oxide, or a dopedsemiconductor material. In addition, the conductive materials 130 a and130 b may be of materials different than the materials of conductors 110and 120. In some embodiments, source or drain conductors may be affixedto points of contact on the semiconductor.

Source region 175 a and drain region 175 b form the second of three TFTswith gate 150 b. Similarly, source region 175 b and drain region 180form the third of the three TFTs with gate 150 c. Metal layer 130 boccupies a portion of the source/drain region 175 b. The gates 150 a-cand dielectric 160 are of materials and dimensions such that a potentialapplied between the gate and any source or drain can induce depletion orenhancement of a channel or part of a channel between the source anddrain regions. It is important to note that regions 175 a and 175 boccupy a dual role as both a source and drain for the multiplicity oftransistors formed by the structure of FIGS. 1-3.

In an embodiment, gates 150 a-c are formed from a metallic conductorlayered onto the dielectric 160 with a printing process. Similarly, themetal layers 110, 130 a, 130 b, and 120 occupy a portion of the drainand source regions 170, 175 a-b, and 180 are layered onto a substratewith a printing process. In an embodiment, a semiconductor material suchas solution blends of organic semiconductors, inorganic solgel, ornano-particle dispersion is spread over the conductors of drain/sourceregions 170, 180, and 175 a-b, which later forms a solid thin film.Dielectric material 160 then tops the semiconductor material 140,separating the gates 150 a-c from the semiconductor 140 and thesource/drain regions 170, 180, and 175 a-b.

FIGS. 4-7 depict the coinciding transistors of FIGS. 1-3 in serieswithout intermediary metal layers 130 a and 130 b, as shown in regions175 a and 175 b. A source region 270 with source conductor 210 beginsthe series of TFTs with gate 250 a. The drain for this first TFT is notshown in FIG. 6, but is in proximity to where metal layer 130 a wouldotherwise be. It is denoted by the region 230 a in FIG. 7. The drainregion 230 a for this first TFT also functions as a source region 230 afor the second TFT, having gate 250 b. The drain for the second TFT islocated in proximity to where metal layer of region 130 b wouldotherwise be and is depicted by region 230 b. The drain region 230 b forthis second TFT also functions as the source region 230 b for the thirdand final TFT with gate 250 c. The third TFT terminates with drainregion 280 and ends the series of three TFTs. Like the source region 170and drain region 180 of FIGS. 1-3, metal layers 210 and 220 occupy aportion of source region 270 and drain region 280.

For some TFT materials and processes, including organic semiconductorsand printing, in comparison to the structure of FIGS. 1-3, the structureof FIGS. 4-7 can have inferior performance. The organic semiconductormaterial 140 and 240 has a high intrinsic resistivity, which increasesthe on-resistance of the TFT stack. The observation that this structurehas such high resistivity suggests that it is less suitable for use withorganic TFTs. Nonetheless, this disadvantage is overcome by otherbenefits. For example, the structure of FIGS. 4-7 reduces the likelihoodof shorting the connections between serial source and drain terminals,as might be possible with the connections between conductors 110 to 130a, 130 a to 130 b, and 130 b to 120.

The low conductivity of organic semiconductor leads to lowering of theoutput current through the set of three TFTs in series. FIG. 8 comparesthe current between the structure of FIGS. 1-3 and the structure ofFIGS. 4-7. The structure illustrated in FIGS. 4-7 has performancesufficient to function in logic gates, such as in a NAND gate. Inadapting this structure for a circuit, it is important to keep a minimalgap between gates, which minimizes the deleterious effects of the highresistivity of the organic semiconductor. The resistivity ofcommercially available organic semiconductor is estimated in FIG. 9.

An alternate embodiment of the layout illustrated in FIGS. 4-7 is shownin FIG. 10. This layout is topologically equivalent to the layout ofFIGS. 4-7. A metal layer occupies a portion of source region 310, and aseparate metal layer occupies a portion of drain region 320. Sourceregion 310 wraps around drain region 320 in a U-shape. It should also berecognized that the roles between source and drain may be reversed inanother embodiment, as well as the polarity of the successivetransistors. Conductive gates 350 a-c are printed atop a dielectricmaterial (not shown), which separates them from the semiconductorsubstrate (shown in shaded relief), source region 310, drain region 320,and intermediary source/drain regions (not shown). Like the structure inFIGS. 4-7, a liquid or liquid emulsion of organic semiconductor materialis spread over the source and drain regions, which later forms a solidthin film prior to application of the dielectric material.

Whereas FIGS. 1-3 and 4-7 show a top-gate, FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate analternate, bottom-gate embodiment. A dielectric material 460 separatesgates 450 a-c from source/drain regions 470, 480, and 475 a-b. Like FIG.3, metal layers 430 a and 430 b occupy portions of the source/drainregions 475 a and 475 b, but is absent in FIG. 12. A liquid or liquidemulsion of organic semiconductor material 440 is spread over thesource/drain regions and forms a solid thin film.

FIGS. 1-7 and 10 show three or more TFTs connected in series. Incontrast, an alternative embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 arrangesTFTs in parallel. FIG. 13 represents a top view, and FIG. 14 representsa bottom view. A single source region 510, a single drain region 520,and a single channel region 540 are used. Multiple gates 550 a-c arealigned in a row with as small a separation between them as possible.Interconnects 555 a-c are attached to each of the gates 550 a-c. In thisembodiment, the high resistivity of the semiconductor is advantageous,as it leads to a reduction in the leakage of current between source anddrain. Moreover, this embodiment is especially advantageous for aprinted process in which the gates 550 a-c are deposited in a singlepass with a constant linear motion and intermittent deposition. It isimportant to observe that all three TFTs in FIGS. 13 and 14 areunipolar. That is, they can be n-type or p-type in alternateembodiments, but not a combination differing polarities when laid inparallel.

The embodiment of FIG. 15 depicts a transmission gate with twocomplementary TFTs. A metal layer occupies a portion of a single sourceregion 610, and a metal layer occupies a portion of a single drainregion 620. Both the source region 610 and drain region 620 are sharedby two TFTs defined, in part, by gates 650 a and 650 b. In thisembodiment, semiconductor material 670 is p-type, and semiconductormaterial 680 is n-type. Nonetheless, it should be recognized thatalternate arrangements are possible, wherein semiconductor 670 isn-type, semiconductor 680 is p-type, region 610 is a drain, or region620 is a source. The TFTs have separate semiconductor depositions andcan flow into one another to a certain extent. This will increase theleakage of current between source region 610 and drain region 620, butthe embodiment will still operate. As is the case for the structureillustrated in FIGS. 13 and 15, the gates can be deposited in a singlepass of the printing process.

It will be appreciated that variants of the above-disclosed and otherfeatures and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined intomany other different systems or applications. Various presentlyunforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, orimprovements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in theart which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A thin film device, comprising: a singlesource region; a single drain region; a first gate disposed between thesingle source region and the single drain region, the first gate havinginterconnects; a second gate disposed between the single source regionand the single drain region, wherein the second gate region is in closeproximity with the first gate region and the first and second gates arealigned in a row, the second gate having interconnects, wherein thefirst gate and the second gate define first and second transistors usingthe single source region and the single drain region; and asemiconductor film deposited from a solution forming a channel region,disposed between the single source region, the single drain region, andthe first and second gate regions.
 2. The device of claim 1, furthercomprising a plurality of tertiary gates wherein each of the pluralityof tertiary gates is parallel to one another and each is disposedbetween the single source region and the single drain region.
 3. Thedevice of claim 2, wherein the semiconductor is further comprised of twosemiconductor regions, one having n-type polarity and the other havingp-type polarity.
 4. The device of claim 2, wherein a portion of thesemiconductor material having p-type polarity and a portion of thesemiconductor material having n-type polarity are in contact.
 5. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the solution is comprised of an organicmaterial.